9/20/07

The first week we moved in back in January, the boys found a frog and named it Mr. Toad. How original. They kept him in the sprinkler box and would catch crickets and toss them in for him. Not a bad life for a frog until the cousins got a hold of him. Cousins came over and slid Mr. Toad down the water slide, tossed him in the pool and just played with him like he was any other pet. Well long story short, Mr. Toad did not recover. A few days after this Wyatt & Jesse came running to Dane with a very stiff and cold Mr. Toad demanding some answers. Since that time the boys have been looking for Mr. Toad’s replacement with not much luck. They can hear the frogs but have had no luck seeing and catching them. Well last week Jesse came running inside, he was so excited he could barely speak. Jesse is difficult to understand at times and with the excitement level deciphering his speech was especially difficult this time. He was trying to say Mr. Toad is back. When we finally got things translated we made our way out to the back porch where sure enough there was Mr. Toad #2. The kids hopped around following this little guy everywhere. What a fun night we had, but this time we let him go home instead of putting him in the sprinkler box where he could be subject to cousins once more.

9/13/07

Two years ago today I woke up with mild contractions. I had seen our wonderful Dr. Beck earlier in the week and was told that I was progressing and that things could happen any day. Dane went off to work and I checked in every few hours but no real changes. Dane was so excited, maybe even more than I was. For those of you who knew Dane, you are very aware of how very much he longed for and wanted a little girl. He loves his boys, but there is something special about a dad and his little girl. As the day went on things seemed to slow down and cool off. Since nothing was happening, I pushed Dane out the door to mutual. The priests were learning to “give proper respect to women, girls, and children” and were babysitting for anyone in the ward. Dane took the boys and I went to the mall with some of my girlfriends. We got to the mall shortly after 7:00 pm and with no kids we were looking forward to a fun girl’s night out. Well at 7:36 pm while walking around the food court, my water broke. I was so embarrassed, but my fabulous girls Michelle and Paula helped me call Dane and off to the church we went. Dane and I got to the hospital at 8:34 pm checked in and Gracie Kate Chaffee arrived at 9:02 pm just 28 minuets after check in. There was not even enough time to get an epidural, that’s right it was all natural. Since that time two years ago our life has changed. How we ever operated with out our little girl is beyond all of us. The get ready to go time has changed from a quick last minuet comb through the boy’s hair to a carefully planned and coordinated process involving bows and clippies. She has truly changed our lives forever. Her brothers and dad adore and tote over everything that is Gracie. She is and always will be our own little princess, Gracie we love you happy birthday.

9/6/07

Wyatt came running in the other day shouting and making a big fuss over something. It had been raining for about an hour and was just starting to clear up. We finally walked outside to find a huge rainbow that filled the entire sky. The kids were so excited to see a real live rainbow. Jesse is at the question stage so of course the questions started to flow. Where did it come from, why is it here, and where does it live. Wyatt thinking he is so smart now that he is in school started to try and answered Jesse’s questions. He tells Jesse that it comes from Heavenly Father and Jesus and it means the earth was just baptized. Dane asked Wyatt what he meant, and he said, “You know it’s like the song says.” One of his favorite songs in primary is “When I am Baptized” here are the lyrics. Once again I was humbled by how much our children understand and comprehend.

I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rainand ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again.

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away,and I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

9/5/07

We stayed home and avoided all the traffic for the long holiday weekend. Actually we had irrigation and the boys decided that we just could not miss it. Since we moved in 9 months ago, we have only had irrigation during the day once. The kids think it is the best thing in the world to play in the irrigation so when we informed them that it was coming during the day the got so excited. It was indeed a party; I think every toy we own was out in the yard by the time the irrigation was finished. Its amazing how something as simple as a little water can create so much fun. After about an hour, Dane started to call the irrigation Lake Chaffee. Wyatt decided he did not like that name and insisted on coming up with something more creative than what dad had thought up. One of the boy’s favorite movies right now is The Bridge to Terabithia, so Wyatt decided that the irrigation would be called Irabithia. Wyatt’s logic was that when the water ports open it is like opening the bridge to his new kingdom, hence the name Irabithia. It is so amazing how these little minds work and what they comprehend. The new kingdom started a new game for the kids as they ran around with swords fighting off all of their magical make-believe creatures. While we missed out on the cool weather and the calmness of the north country, we definitely made our own memories.

We have 12 citrus trees that we planted when we moved in. The boys have named each and every tree. Here is Jesse with his favorite tree "Skinny" Wyatt could not decide which tree was his favorite, so he picked 2, "Fruity" has more fruit than any other tree, and "Miracle" who Dane ran over with the lawn mowers and it lucky to be living.